title: Clostridium difficile Infection.
abstract: Clostridium difficile is emerging as a common cause of infectious diarrhea. Incidence has increased dramatically since 2000, associated with a new strain that features both increased toxin production and increased resistance to antibiotics. For patients with mild to moderate disease, oral metronidazole is usually the first choice of treatment, and those with severe disease should be treated with vancomycin, with additional intravenous metronidazole in some cases. Fecal microbiota transplantation is a potentially promising therapy for patients with multiple recurrences of C difficile infection. Prevention of nosocomial transmission is crucial to reducing disease outbreaks in health care settings.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, 4245 Roosevelt Way Northeast, Box 354760, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. cknight@uw.edu
authors.forename: Christopher L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: Christina M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Surawicz
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000930:Antidiarrheals / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016360:Clostridioides difficile; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000930:Antidiarrheals